Kilkenny Castle named among Ireland’s top 10 most popular castles
The Kilkenny landmark ranks fourth nationwide as social media interest in heritage tourism continues to grow
With the summer holidays fast approaching, interest in Ireland’s historic castles is on the rise. One of Kilkenny’s best-known landmarks has been recognised with Kilkenny Castle ranking fourth of Ireland’s most popular castles.
The nationwide research, carried out by travel insurance provider Chill, was based on visitor interest, online searches and social media engagement.
Kilkenny Castle secured fourth place overall, recording 33,100 monthly Google searches, 57,955 Instagram posts under its hashtag and 2,132 TikTok posts, highlighting its continued appeal to visitors.
The iconic Kilkenny City landmark finished ahead of other national landmarks including Dunluce Castle in Antrim, Bunratty Castle in Clare, Ross Castle in Killarney and Trim Castle in Meath.
Internationally, Edinburgh Castle secured the top spot, followed by Windsor Castle, Prague Castle and the Palace of Versailles. Unfortunately, no Irish castle made it into Europe’s top 10 most popular castles.
The findings come as interest in Ireland’s historic castles continues to grow, with searches for “castle tours Ireland” reportedly increasing by 80% over the past three months.